Why is the EA FC 25 New Zealand cheat not working on PlayStation? How to access the game a day early

EA FC 25 Early Access launches this weekend, but for some players, a week's head start isn't enough to get their Ultimate Teams started.

The latest edition of the best-selling franchise, formerly known as FIFA, has a unique loophole that has been available on consoles for years.

FC25 enters Early Access for fans who purchased the Ultimate Edition on Friday, September 20, one week before the global launch.

However, there is a trick that avid gamers have used to play it even before, and EA Sports' rebranding of FIFA doesn't affect the method.

The scheme, dubbed the New Zealand hack by the FC community, works by simply changing the console settings.

EA FC 25 New Zealand Trick Explained

Early access to the game is unlocked in 12 am local time worldwide Friday, September 20, starting from the second the clock strikes midnight.

Different time zones mean that users will log in separately instead of blocking all servers at once.

Essentially, New Zealand Standard Time (NZST) is 11 hours ahead of British Summer Time (BST).

This means that from 1pm London time on Thursday 19th September, players around the world in Wellington will be able to start playing FC25.

However, as fans have long noticed, on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One consoles, the country and regions can be changed at will.

In the Language & Location tab of settings, a change to New Zealand will lift the region lock imposed in FC25.

Unfortunately, this trick is specific to Xbox users – if you're on PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, or PC, it won't work!

Is there any way to copy on PlayStation?

Yes, but it's a lot more complicated and may not be worth the time and money spent on a few extra hours.

If PlayStation fans want to create a new PS account with a different email address, they can select New Zealand as their country.

Purchase EAFC 25 using this new account and then enable console sharing to access the game on your main account.

The obvious downside to this is that the final step is only available once the release time has passed in your respective time zone.

Opening a new account will result in losing all transferable rewards and starting from scratch with an empty club.

It may also geo-block your location to New Zealand, which could present matching issues if you're in incompatible time zones.

But at least it's still an option for PS5 users, unlike PC users who have to wait without an avenue to explore.